The ratification of the 18th amendment in 1919 brought with it two main groups who sought to fight against prohibition. The Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and the Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform fought prohibition for a few reasons. Tax money was lost from the lack of liquor sales, and tax money was spent on enforcing prohibition. Over the course of the prohibition period, the AAPA sought to fight prohibition by analyzing the problems that prohibition caused. Tactics of the group did not change, however the group saw an increase in membership as the problems caused by prohibition persisted. The WONPR also saw growth over the century. Initially the group consisted of upper class women who did not want to be “expected” to support prohibition. Later in the 1920’s, the group’s membership included the middle and lower-class. These groups were influenced by other smaller anti-prohibition groups of the time, like The Crusaders and the Molly Pitcher Club.
Context of the Movement:
The main cause of groups against prohibition was the ratification of the 18th amendment to the US constitution in 1919. Commonly known as the “Prohibition Amendment”, the 18th amendment restricted access to alcohol. This was carried out largely by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union; the idea at the time was that an America without alcohol would have less crime, less mental illnesses, and that a safer environment would be created. However, as the prohibition period progressed, tax money was being loss from lack of alcohol sales and prohibition enforcement. Additionally, more organized crime was prevalent since there was still a demand for alcohol. In the minds of members of the AAPA and the WONPR, the situation was getting worse, not better.
Tactics:
The tactics of the Temperance Movement came along in stages. The dawn of the movement was during the American Revolutionary War era, and was merely a group of farmers across a few states that decided to honor the Sabbath by taking temperance, rather than abstaining, in the consumption of alcohol. They advocated that their actions were not only supported by the Bible, but were also morally just. Soon after this, the ATS (American Temperance Society) came to be and the group grew to house over a million members. Though, how did this movement go from a small following of a few religious farmers to a world-wide movement? The answer lies in how the members of the ATS not only advocated their beliefs through the typical street processions, but they also were extremely involved in the education of the community concerning their cause. The movement targeted the working classes around the world and as the movement grew the protest shifted from the temperance of alcohol to the prohibition of it. It is possible to think that this move would be taking an extreme risk; however, the movement provided convenient and sensible alternatives for the general public. The movement, made an effort to construct alternative buildings to the local bars and saloons that filled the cities, and instead advocated temperance fountains, temperance halls and coffee palaces that prohibited the consumption of alcoholic beverages. By not only taking the ‘in your face’ approach to convince the general public and legislation, the ATS also gave people an alternative to going to the bars. This proved to be a very beneficial tactic. This tactic is proven to be beneficial when the ATC movement numbers fluctuated to 8000 different groups, and over 1,500,000 members in total worldwide.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
One of the major strengths found in the ATS movement was their connection to the Christian religion. Although there were groups that supported the movement that didn’t have any religious ties, such as the Scottish Prohibition, those who did have religious ties gained the support of the Catholic Church. With the influence the church had on the general public and the government, the prohibition gained worldly popularity and the movement became more influential. By the end of the First World War the restriction on alcohol was extremely strict in both the UK and the United States. It was by this time that the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, and New Zealand also almost followed suit. However, as time the movement started to decline as the public view changed concerning the movement. People began to believe that the movement elicited unhealthy drinking habits, and was detrimental to the growth of the economy, since selling alcohol funded America in many ways. Eventually the movement declined and states and countries began to relax their alcohol consumption laws.
Outcome:
The outcome of these protests was successful to a certain extent. Prohibition was indeed repealed with the 21st amendment on December 5th, 1933. This repeal is due to a number of things and did not come about just from the protests. The factors in the repeal were numerous. A large part of the repeal was the rise of organize crime based on the selling of bootleg alcohol as well as because of the blatant disregard citizens had for the law. The protests instead of being the actual hands and feet of the repeal functioned as a face for the need for repeal.
Pictures:
Artifact:
This article came from a prevalent journalist at the time. The information and perspectives included allow us to see deeper in to the movement and get a real feel for the thoughts of someone at the time. Since he was a prominent journalist, the information and perspectives are reliable. He raises valid points and shows the arguments the various groups used against prohibition.
History of the Movement:
The ratification of the 18th amendment in 1919 brought with it two main groups who sought to fight against prohibition. The Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and the Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform fought prohibition for a few reasons. Tax money was lost from the lack of liquor sales, and tax money was spent on enforcing prohibition. Over the course of the prohibition period, the AAPA sought to fight prohibition by analyzing the problems that prohibition caused. Tactics of the group did not change, however the group saw an increase in membership as the problems caused by prohibition persisted. The WONPR also saw growth over the century. Initially the group consisted of upper class women who did not want to be “expected” to support prohibition. Later in the 1920’s, the group’s membership included the middle and lower-class. These groups were influenced by other smaller anti-prohibition groups of the time, like The Crusaders and the Molly Pitcher Club.
Context of the Movement:
The main cause of groups against prohibition was the ratification of the 18th amendment to the US constitution in 1919. Commonly known as the “Prohibition Amendment”, the 18th amendment restricted access to alcohol. This was carried out largely by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union; the idea at the time was that an America without alcohol would have less crime, less mental illnesses, and that a safer environment would be created. However, as the prohibition period progressed, tax money was being loss from lack of alcohol sales and prohibition enforcement. Additionally, more organized crime was prevalent since there was still a demand for alcohol. In the minds of members of the AAPA and the WONPR, the situation was getting worse, not better.
Tactics:
The tactics of the Temperance Movement came along in stages. The dawn of the movement was during the American Revolutionary War era, and was merely a group of farmers across a few states that decided to honor the Sabbath by taking temperance, rather than abstaining, in the consumption of alcohol. They advocated that their actions were not only supported by the Bible, but were also morally just. Soon after this, the ATS (American Temperance Society) came to be and the group grew to house over a million members. Though, how did this movement go from a small following of a few religious farmers to a world-wide movement? The answer lies in how the members of the ATS not only advocated their beliefs through the typical street processions, but they also were extremely involved in the education of the community concerning their cause. The movement targeted the working classes around the world and as the movement grew the protest shifted from the temperance of alcohol to the prohibition of it. It is possible to think that this move would be taking an extreme risk; however, the movement provided convenient and sensible alternatives for the general public. The movement, made an effort to construct alternative buildings to the local bars and saloons that filled the cities, and instead advocated temperance fountains, temperance halls and coffee palaces that prohibited the consumption of alcoholic beverages. By not only taking the ‘in your face’ approach to convince the general public and legislation, the ATS also gave people an alternative to going to the bars. This proved to be a very beneficial tactic. This tactic is proven to be beneficial when the ATC movement numbers fluctuated to 8000 different groups, and over 1,500,000 members in total worldwide.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
One of the major strengths found in the ATS movement was their connection to the Christian religion. Although there were groups that supported the movement that didn’t have any religious ties, such as the Scottish Prohibition, those who did have religious ties gained the support of the Catholic Church. With the influence the church had on the general public and the government, the prohibition gained worldly popularity and the movement became more influential. By the end of the First World War the restriction on alcohol was extremely strict in both the UK and the United States. It was by this time that the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, and New Zealand also almost followed suit. However, as time the movement started to decline as the public view changed concerning the movement. People began to believe that the movement elicited unhealthy drinking habits, and was detrimental to the growth of the economy, since selling alcohol funded America in many ways. Eventually the movement declined and states and countries began to relax their alcohol consumption laws.
Outcome:
The outcome of these protests was successful to a certain extent. Prohibition was indeed repealed with the 21st amendment on December 5th, 1933. This repeal is due to a number of things and did not come about just from the protests. The factors in the repeal were numerous. A large part of the repeal was the rise of organize crime based on the selling of bootleg alcohol as well as because of the blatant disregard citizens had for the law. The protests instead of being the actual hands and feet of the repeal functioned as a face for the need for repeal.
Pictures:
Artifact:
This article came from a prevalent journalist at the time. The information and perspectives included allow us to see deeper in to the movement and get a real feel for the thoughts of someone at the time. Since he was a prominent journalist, the information and perspectives are reliable. He raises valid points and shows the arguments the various groups used against prohibition.